4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (1 Aug - Results & Review)
Downs...
3. Tiffany Stratton’s Lame Reason
This Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill build just hasn’t hit the heights, has it? This week, both worked a short promo with Jade saying she didn’t need Tiffany’s help on last week's episode. Firing back, Stratton justified the save by claiming she doesn’t want Jade to have any excuses at SummerSlam. Fair enough, but that save still came out of the blue and the build has been lacklustre.
Yikes, WWE. You need to do better than this.
Hopefully the match is good, at least, but Triple H's creative team has really crapped the bed when it comes to prepping both champion and challenger for this shindig in Jersey. It's becoming a genuine problem that Stratton always comes across as somebody rehearsing her lines in the hallway before cameras start rolling - she's struggling to sound like an actual human being having real conversations these days, and somebody must have a word.
Annoyingly, both women also came across as bratty heels during this brief face to face. Tiffany's material was all rather snarky, and Jade's wording made it sound like she's already looking past the reigning champion towards what's next. None of it is clicking, so they better bring it once the bell rings on Saturday night.
Confession: This writer is pretty concerned about the match after seeing last week's unnecessary angle and this backstage promo. Neither side of the equation is coming across well, and this skit played out like a total afterthought to WWE generally. Are they slowly losing faith in 'Tiffy Time'? Looks like it.
Arrest that slide. You guys literally have the power to do it!